It would be hard to picture this match going worse for Sunderland. A loss, an own goal, and two men sent off before the whistle blew for the interval. At they only lost by one? But with Gus Poyet’s men down deep in the drop zone, that probably doesn’t bring much comfort. Hull, meanwhile, are reveling in the Black Cats’ mistakes, with the three points keeping them in the top half of the table.

Carlos Cuellar got things started at the KC Stadium, but probably not in the way he would’ve preferred. Trying to prevent Liam Rosenior‘s cross from reaching Yannick Sagbo, the Sunderland defender headed the ball into his own net. The goal may not have come from one of his own men, but Steve Bruce still looked like the tiger that got the cream.

Things got worse for Gus Poyet in the 40th minute, when Sunderland goalkeeper Kieren Westwood picked up an injury after a nasty collision with Paul McShane. Although it appeared Westwood would be able to continue, it was just a few minutes before Vito Mannone had to be deputized, his first league appearance for the Black Cats.

And then it just all got a bit comical. First Lee Cattermole showed himself happy to be back in the starting lineup, celebrating with a typical effusive challenge. The midfielder took out Ahmed Elmohamady and earned himself a straight red for his trouble. Then, not five minutes later, Andrea Dossena went chasing after a ball he’d idly misplaced and stomped on David Meyler on his way. A straight red marked the end of the Italian’s second-ever start with Sunderland.

Poyet used the half to make changes to protect his side: Adam Johnson was brought in for Jozy Altidore, and Wes Brown for Fabio Borini. Yet the switch wasn’t entirely defensive, so the question must be asked: How on earth did Hull not score? They had a two man advantage. They absolutely peppered Mannone’s goal with shots. Yet from the 24 shots put in, a mere two were on target. With the Black Cats digging in, most of the flurry of shots were blocked. Jake Livermore managed to hit the post, but that’s as close as the Tigers came.

Guess Hull are lucky Sunderland were kind enough to do the scoring for them.